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User: BurstElement

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  1. You forgot to write a subject for your comment! on People Will Follow a Robot In an Emergency - Even If It's Wrong (gatech.edu) · · Score: 1

    Sounds like a failure on the researchers part, if you tell students (who are conditioned to follow researchers instructions) to participate in a robotics research project where you "asked them to follow a brightly colored robot that had the words âoeEmergency Guide Robotâ on its side." And then subsequently "The robot led the study subjects to a conference room, where they were asked to complete a survey about robots and read an unrelated magazine article."
    The students are going to assume you are going to be interested in their opinions on the robot.
    The fact that you stated a fake fire which the students will know is fake by virtue of the fact that the researcher/supervisor or whoever was truly known to be the authority figure didn't freak out and tell everyone to evacuate isn't going to make much difference to the students actions, they are just going to assume it was part of the research to assess the robots performance in simulated fire conditions.
    I guarantee these students expected another survey at the end where they rate the robots performance, reliability, accuracy, visibility and clarity of instructions etc etc.

    TLDR;
    True headline: Air Force sponsors failed Georgia tech research project
    PhD candidate to be laughed off stage at IEEE conference in NZ on March 9th.

  2. Re:critical development age!? on Programmer Father Asks: What Gets Little Girls Interested In Science? · · Score: 1

    I thought we all did... tin foil!

  3. zero theorem? on Historians Rediscover Einstein's Forgotten Model of the Universe · · Score: 1

    So he was working on zip-t?

  4. Nothing but a sensationalist article... on Are Booth Babes Going Away? (Video) · · Score: 1

    So... He attended the show and all he took home from it was an article about gimmicks and the freebies he scored and this sensationalist piece of junk about booth babes... Sounds like he was just there scabbing freebies on a company funded junket in Vegas.

    This guy is clearly just an attention seeker trying to fire up the feminists... the girls shown are hardly your typical "booth babes" and his claim that the "Solar VPS" booth was bro-centric (I assume he is talking about the "spacemen") shows he hasn't even bothered to look at the companies marketing materials or website to see the space / solar system theme of all their products and services.

    And yes a lot of trade-show organisers in certain regions and industries have cracked down / set guidelines on booth babes, but this wasn't due to changing sensibilities but rather a response to vendors who were really pushing the limits of existing ones with things like body painted models and models wearing miniskirts that should probably be classified as belts.

  5. Re:OP here. on Fighting TSA Harassment of Disabled Travelers · · Score: 1

    Things probably went south as soon as the TSA drone looked at your passport and found only your mononym in the name field(s)...

  6. Ethnicity breakdown of Galileo Academy on Google Blogger: Vietnamese HS Students Excelling At CS · · Score: 2

    Wow... I can't believe the ethnicity breakdown listed for that school... 74% of students are Asian, 12% Latino and only 3.4% Caucasian!
    And from the Wikipedia article... "Math scores remain one of Galileo's best academic strengths"... Lol.

  7. Needs credit to go shopping... on Canadian Man Wants To Trade Home For Bitcoins · · Score: 0

    Sounds like the kind of guy who would blow all his bitcoins shopping on Silk Road.

  8. Clive Palm(greas)er! on Plans Unveiled For Full Scale Replica of the Titanic · · Score: 1

    To be honest Clives recent endeavours appear to be misguided attempts to buy favour with Chinese investors so that he can get his latest IPO off the ground...
    1. Buy football (soccer) team but screw it up so badly the team gets expelled from the league.
    2. Buy PGA golf course / resort but make such a mockery of the game with his robotic dinosaur and other crazy antics that the course gets removed from the 2013 tour.
    3. Contract Chinese shipbuilders to construct replica of HMS Titanic... await spectacular failure.

    There has always been something shady about his business deals, from unscrupulous tactics regarding his dealings with competitors and business partners / investors and then there are the increasingly frequent rumours of bribery and corruption.

  9. Re:It's not a cure. on Australian Scientists Discover Potential Aids Cure · · Score: 1

    I was thinking much the same thing... this "cure" could potentially make the virus more prevalent as the mortality rate decreases and attitudes towards infection become more lax.

  10. Re:AOAKN .HVPKD FNFJU YIDDC on WW2 Carrier Pigeon and Undecoded Message Found In Chimney · · Score: 1

    NURP 40 TW 194
    NURP 37 OK 76

    Just speculating but I wonder if NURP = Non-unit related personnel (aka civilians etc.)...
    The numbers could be grid references along with information relating to their preparedness for attack.
    TW = Threat Watch?
    OK = Order Known?

  11. Re:In other news 2 years later... on China Telco Replaces Cisco Devices Over Security Concerns · · Score: 1

    Being a little sensitive aren't we? I suppose you think the Chinese belong in a maruta factory or something?!

    Clearly he was referring to the fact that only a few decades ago it was Japan, not China that was known for its cheap low quality electronics... in time China will advance and some other so called "third world" nation will take their place as the low cost / quality source.

  12. Re:Who Cares? on China Telco Replaces Cisco Devices Over Security Concerns · · Score: 1

    I would say that this type of article is exactly the type of content that Slashdot should be reporting... it involves one of the largest network infrastructure providers losing a significant part of what would probably be their largest market (if not now, then at least over the next decade)

    And why should a tech news site care about the weather or problems borne out of greed and prejudice like the situation with the financial system or the unrest in the middle east?!

  13. Re:Good. on Laser Strikes On Aircraft Becoming Epidemic · · Score: 2

    Higher powered lasers have been banned in Australia since way before the media reported incidents of shining lasers on aircraft appeared... any handheld self powered laser >1mW is prohibited.
    I think that while the bans reduced availability of lasers high powered lasers to the general public the novelty factor for those that do have them makes many of those people more reckless.

  14. Re:Not the military's job. on US Military Designates Julian Assange an "Enemy of State" · · Score: 1

    The constitution places the power to declare war and issue letters of marque with the congress, not the executive. It's up to the congress to tell the military who's an enemy, not the other way around.

    Whoever has taken it upon themselves to do this has libeled Assange.

    -jcr

    I'll probably get modded to -1 for saying this and appearing to be anti-assange (which I am not) but I think all this is being taken out of context.

    If you read the offending document (US Air Force charges against an unknown female USAF Analyst) it simply states as one of the "Matters" a charge of "Communicating with the enemy"... it doesn't say that Assange and or Wikileaks are "the enemy".

    To be honest I feel that lately Assange is making himself look more and more paranoid... probably to the delight of the US Govt.
    The US Govt. will probably let him carry on about it in the media for a while and then in a few weeks discredit him with a media release stating that the document has been incorrectly interpreted and that Assange / Wikileaks have not (as yet) been declared an enemy of the state.

  15. Re:That's how they killed it. on Defense Expert: Hire Hackers and Wage War · · Score: 2

    Haha... you really need to take a good look and consider who are the sheep and who is the shepherd!
    Do you honestly believe that the US Govt. doesn't have backdoors / access to backdoors in 99% of US telecoms tech?

  16. Re:I don't care. on Melinda Gates Pledges $560 Million For Contraception · · Score: 0

    Lol... I clicked on the article and the first thing I thought (based on the picture) was Melinda Gates = Chloe from Fight Club.

    Narrator: Oh, yeah, Chloe... Chloe looked the way Meryl Streep's skeleton would look if you made it smile and walk around the party being extra nice to everybody.
    Chloe: Well, I'm still here. But I don't know for how long. That's as much certainty as anyone can give me. But I've got some good news: I no longer have any fear of death. But... I am in a pretty lonely place. No one will have sex with me. I'm so close to the end, and all I want is to get laid for the last time. I have pornographic movies in my apartment, and lubricants, and amyl nitrite...
    [the group leader takes the mic]

  17. Re:Remove the yoke of Monsanto! on Monsanto May Have To Repay 10 Years of GM Soya Royalties In Brazil · · Score: 1

    Looking at that article it is fairly clear that there is an edit war being waged... I wouldn't trust for NPOV personally.

  18. There's one other thing that can cause a spike... on What Struck Earth in 775? · · Score: 2

    Atmospheric nuclear expolisions can also cause a spike in C14... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon-14
    The obvious answer is that earth was nuked in the year 775!!!

  19. Re:Time to move. on FBI: We Need Wiretap-Ready Web Sites — Now · · Score: 1

    Coward! Stay and fight!

    Ive had reasons to dislike this government since I started thiking for myself. You think I am going to let them threaten me away from my familial homeland? Fuck them....stay here and be the resistance!

    Echelon Score: Over 9000 (Insighting Resistance)
    Auto-add to DHS watchlist.

  20. US centric thinking is the problem, not China on GAO Sting Finds More Fake Military Parts From China · · Score: 1

    If the US DoD are purchasing electronic components on the secondary market from marketplaces like ICSource, IC2IC and posting RFQ's with NATO part numbers expecting the Chinese vendors to decipher them and then interpret the MIL standards they specify with complete accuracy then they need their heads checked.
    Vendors peddling re-manufactured / recycled stock or stock with modified date codes will be the least of their worries.

    If they expect that level of accuracy and QC with no effort on their part then they should stick to buying components directly from the original manufacturer.
    And if the manufacturer EOL's a critical component for your $10B aircraft then make damned sure you stock up before the last buy production run is gone!

  21. Re:$60 games? Luxury! on Can $60 Games Survive? · · Score: 1

    $60 would be an absolute bargain in Australia... COD MW3 is still $99.99US to download via Steam in AU!

  22. Re:Easy! on 'The Hobbit' Pub Threatened With Lawsuit · · Score: 2

    Or just drop one of the "b"s...

    From Collins English Dictionary
    hob
    n
    (Myth & Legend / European Myth & Legend) a hobgoblin or elf

  23. Re:Bogus article on US, EU, Japan Complain To WTO Over China's Rare Earth Ban · · Score: 1

    America should just increase it's printing of money. China is just a little bitch that doesn't have the balls to float their currency.

    China / North Korea are already better at printing US currency than the US Treasury (i.e. Superdollars) so why bother floating the RMB... What better way to get around pesky sanctions and embargoes.
    And from the POV of them being able to print both currencies the value of the USD vs the RMB genuinely would have a fixed cost / exchange value.

    Regarding the rare earth metals they are just protecting their economic environment.. nothing wrong or suspect with that.

  24. Re:Its called risk and research. on Google 'Wasting' $16 Billion On Projects Headed Nowhere · · Score: 1

    Look at Kodak as a prime example of what happens when you choose one thing and focus on it.

    Kodak is a prime example of a company whose core business model (profiting primarily from service [processing etc.] and consumables) became non-viable and who failed to restructure their offering quickly enough to avoid bankruptcy.
    This will likely also happen to certain players in the movie, broadcast (i.e. TV) and news/media industries if they don't work quickly to restructure their business models.

  25. Re:If you like privacy... on The Privacy Richter Scale · · Score: 5, Funny

    Don't leave your house

    Then they still know where you live... :p